essay

How has Vogue changed and influenced the development of fashion and social identities?

“Sensitive people faced with the prospect of a camera portrait put on a face they think is one they would like to show the world. Very often what lies behind the façade is rare and more wonderful than the subject knows and dares to believe.” Penn, I. (1986). Irving Penn’s Cranium Architecture 

Fashion is expressive and can be interpreted in numerous ways. Fashion does outline, express, and shape our identity. We wear things because we want ourselves and the people around us to perceive us in a way we wish to be seen. Fashion and clothing are both there as a fundamental tool in which people construct themselves. The way we dress ourselves not only gives the person attired an identity but gives insight to those around us. Sometimes we all want to construct a new identity using fashion and statement pieces, but it is a matter that is often hard to accomplish as we could be drifting away from our comfort level or our perception of our authentic identity. The way we dress is like communicating without words. Whether we like it or not, people will judge us by our appearance. Our sense of style is so greatly affected by our environment, society, and our personality. Unfortunately, society will continue to demonize others who take a unique approach to fashion. Within this essay, I aim to explore how Vogue fashion photographers Guy Bourdin, Irving Penn and Global Editorial Director of Vogue, Anna Winour, impact the fashion industry and how they help people use fashion to explore and present who they really are, without caring about the judgement of others.

History of Vogue

Vogue, influential American fashion, and lifestyle magazine was founded in 1892 as a weekly high-society journal, created by Arthur Baldwin Turnure for New York City’s social elite and covering news of the local social scene, traditions of high society, and social etiquette. Condé Montrose Nast bought Vogue in 1909 and transformed it into a women’s fashion magazine focused on beauty, composure, and etiquette. Vogue soon became known for its distinctive photographs and high editorial quality. Nast hired the best illustrators and photographers of the day, and they produced covers for the magazine that were consistently sophisticated and occasionally revolutionary. In 1932, for example, Vogue became one of the first magazines to print a colour photo on its cover. Photographer Edward Steichen shoots the first color photograph ever printed in Vogue. The July cover by Steichen marked the arrival of fashion photography in Vogue.

Vogue_July11932EdwardSteichen.jpg
First colour cover 1932

In the 1960s the magazine redefined the look of female models, deliberately avoiding shapely figures to highlight thin, gender-neutral physiques. Vogue’s August 1974 cover was the first to picture an African American model. Beverly Johnson becomes the first black woman to cover American Vogue. November 1988: Anna Wintour’s first cover features Israeli model Michaela Bercu. May 1989: Madonna became the first celebrity or non-model to be pictured on the cover of Vogue. 

First black woman 1974

In 1988 Anna Wintour became editor of Vogue and immediately transformed Vogue covers by emphasizing the woman’s body, rather than just her face, as well as by frequently featuring Hollywood actresses as opposed to traditional fashion models, thereby sparking an international trend. 

Vogue has enjoyed international success, with both standard and special editions published around the globe. One of the world’s most prominent fashion magazines, it has heavily influenced the development of the fashion magazine industry and continues to shape modern fashion trends. In 2009 The New York Times christened Vogue “high fashion’s bible.” 

Anna Wintour’s impact on the fashion industry

Anna Wintour is the Global Editorial Director of Vogue. Wintour moved to London and was the editor of British Vogue between 1985 and 1987. A year later, she assumed control of the franchise’s magazine in New York. Her use of the magazine shaped the fashion industry. Anna is known to have changed how the world gets dressed. Her biggest impact has been on the clothes we see on television screens and newspaper front pages. Her personal preferences have changed what we think of as stylish, “Trends,” she once said, “is a dirty word.” Wintour’s fashion advice is “Let it be unique to yourself and yet identifiable to others.” Wintour explains how the way we dress is a form of self-expression, what we chose to wear reveals a hint of who you are. She claims it is important that you are happy in what you wear and to do it for yourself instead of others. However, within this quote she explains how you are “identifiable to others” through fashion, meaning people can get to know you through what you wear and how you dress, fashion is a way of communicating your identity to others without the use of words, which can be easier for many individuals

Anna has learned that in fashion there will be several types of failures that you may face but the most important thing she learned was that sometimes you just need to take the hit and move on. Accept failure because that is how we learn. She taught the fashion industry this and in return, it gave people the confidence to try new things. No matter if they fail or not. Fashion is about getting out of your comfort zone and Anna figured out at an early age that you need to go out and try new things to see what you like and do not like. Trying new things also inspires others to think outside the box. It gives a new perspective to traditional thoughts that need to be broken. Many people are so focused on being like everyone else. Fashion is about being you and is not about wearing the same trends as everyone else. Being different is a strength that a lot of us forget is an actual strength.  

Irving Penn

165 Number of Vogue Covers Photographed by Penn Between 1943 and 2004 Penn produced photographs for 165 Vogue magazine...
 Irving Penn, Vogue, April 1, 1950

Irving Penn has been known to alter our perception of beauty. He spent 66 of his 92 years at Vogue magazine. Penn first appeared in the magazine in 1943 and created an unprecedented 165 covers, more than any other single photographer. These were in addition to his persisting portraits that revealed the hidden selves of the famous sitters, the luminous high-fashion compositions shot in natural light, the portfolios of indigenous people, the flower, and small trades series. Then there were his advertising and personal projects, which ranged from studies of nudes to cigarette butts. 

The photographer might be described as a soul catcher as he was able to get to the essence of both people and objects; in addition, he had the rare ability to capture the spirit of things in a graphic way. Maria Morris Hambourg echoed that sentiment, saying that Penn’s “seriously arresting” photographs “get under your skin.” 

Penn started at Vogue in 1943. After proving his talent as a still life and portrait photographer, he was eased into fashion work by Alexander Liberman. Penn made his couture debut in 1950, photographing the latest fashion in a rickety studio, furnished with a discarded theatrical curtain. Penn wrote, “the light of Paris as I had imagined it, soft but defining.” Penn made use of this light to interpret couture in photographs that became immediately iconic. 

1 Debut Couture Shoot for Vogue Penn started at Vogue in 1943. After proving his talent as a still life and portrait...
 Irving Penn. Rochas mermaid dress (modeled by Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn), Paris, 1950. Platinum-palladium print, 1980; 19 7/8 × 19 3/4 inches (50.5 × 50.2 cm); the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; promised gift of The Irving Penn Foundation © Condé Nast

This image by Penn is filled with rich detail, shadow offers reliable contour to subject and the space that surrounds in an infinity of shades in white, grey, and black. The background has vast amounts of texture, contrasting with the solid black dress. Your eyes are drawn to the woman’s face as the light reflects off the high points of her cheeks. 

Women’s fashions of the 1950s reflected a complicated mix of conservatism and glamour. An hourglass figure dominated the look of the 1950s, with cinched-in waistlines and accentuated hips and busts. In Penn’s photograph he captures the elegant hourglass figure that dominated the 50’s. 

This image, taken in 1950, ventures away from the general stereotype of women during this time. Emerging from the losses of World War II and The Great Depression, most women, if not all, lost their jobs and became housewives, whilst men took back the jobs with dominance after coming back from the war, leaving women with no power or independence of their own, except when it came to fashion. This photograph of the 50s would have empowered women into being more confident and independent through their choice of clothes. The strong dark colour of the dress compared to the lighter background, gives the dress and the woman independent power which is the opposite of what woman had in that day and age, indicating that fashion played a massive role in women’s confidence, independence, and appearance. This led to women wearing trousers and shorts which was the beginning of the end to specific items of clothing being allocated to certain genders. 

Guy Bourdin

In 1955, his first fashion photos were featured in Paris Vogue in February, and he continued working for the magazine until 1987. Between 1967 and 1981, Bourdin produced some of his most memorable work under the employment of shoe designer Charles Jourdan, who became his patron. His work for Jourdan employed humanlike compositions, suggestive narratives and explored the realms between the absurd and the divine. His surreal aesthetics were delivered with sharp humour and were always eagerly anticipated by the media. After four years, he refused to accept the award Grand Prix National de la Photographie by the Ministry of Culture, France. Despite this, his name was preserved on the winners list. In the second half of the 1900s, Bourdin was among the most recognized fashion and commercial photographers. His style of photography exceeded the boundaries of traditional advertising – it was daring and had narrative supremacy. 

 

Widely considered to have changed the face of fashion photography forever, French photographer Guy Bourdin’s innovative voice and visionary work is no longer seen solely in the context of commercial photography but is well esteemed in the historical records of contemporary fine art. 

Man Ray, one of the greatest visual artists of the day, his multidisciplinary attitude instilled in Bourdin the idea of working without constraints. He turned his back on his formalist training and adopted a rigorous understanding of surrealist principles. Man Ray taught him to use graphic imagery and exaggerated lighting in his photography, and this period of apprenticeship was fundamental in influencing his style for the rest of his career. By 1968, he was continually finding new and exciting ways to challenge perceptions of commercial fashion photography.

For Bourdin, fashion was more than just clothes, his work was very abnormal and extraordinary. His photographs featured vivid colors, partially told stories and strong use of sexual imagery. He is often referred to as one of the most important visual artists of the last century, and his bold, graphic style of imagery continually challenged the long-held traditions of what fashion photography could be. His work strongly influenced the fashion industry, Bourdin thought outside the box when it came to his photographs, they include bright solid colours and were somewhat graphic. He didn’t care when it came to what people thought and that is one of the reasons he became so successful, his carelessness lead him to be highly appreciated within the fashion industry, and this influenced many other fashion photographers to explore what they love, instead of what would be socially acceptable.

What lead his work to being so abnormal was his past. Guy Bourdin was a disturbed and complex man. The leading French photographer was obsessed with death, and always had a difficult relationship with women, he was abandoned as a child by his mother, he often maltreated his models, while at least two of his former lovers committed suicide. Bourdin had enough of seeing a pretty girl in pretty clothes in a pretty environment. Instead, he decided to created obscene and voyeuristic scenes that were at once erotic and subversive, a weird mix of death and desire, and the beauty and the beast. This therefore lead Bourdin in to completely remaking the fashion industry. He taught people how to express themselves through fashion with no limits. His work completely deferred from social norms. Bourdin’s photography was sensational, exotic, sinister, provocative, sensual, and surrealistic. His influences included Edward Weston, Luis Buñuel, Balthus, Magritte and Man Ray. Guy Bourdin has been a great inspiration for young photographers working in the fashion industry. 

This is an image of the bottom half of a woman’s body, significant to Bourdin’s style of photography involving his images being overly sexualized. This image suggests a narrative behind this woman as she embeds mystery into the image. Why is she in this position? Was she pushed? Is she looking for something? The two solid colours don’t take the attention away from the woman which makes the sense of mystery even stronger.

Bourdin captures an image that is playful, fresh and bold. It has strong outlines instead of shadows, and bright, vibrant colours instead of dull shadows. This relates to Bourdin’s personality, strong solid colours and objects are straight to the point, like Bourdin, he doesn’t hold back when it comes to his images and fully expresses his personality and creativity when taking his photographs.

The main resemblance between Bourdin and Penn’s images is the strong sense of mystery, firstly in Bourdin’s image where you question why the woman is in that position, and secondly the expression on the woman’s face in Penn’s photograph where she appears stoic, as if she is on the verge of tears.

Bourdin constantly explores colour throughout his images, compared to Penn’s deep, dark shadows and contrast. Penn’s photographs create a sense of misery for the viewer, with the negative expressions and deep tones of grey. This is in contrast to Bourdin’s fun and vivid images that uplift the viewer.

Women have been taught from a young age that there are certain things we can and cannot wear at different stages of our lives. Bourdin influenced women being more free with what they wear. Bourdin was appreciated during a period of time where woman mainly had to do what men told them to do, this involved fashion and what they wore. Bourdin explores nudity and sexualized women within his images. Although some women may have found this offensive, this will also have been a break-through for most women in expressing themselves through fashion.

The way we dress is like communicating without words. Whether we like it or not, people will judge us by our appearance. While we shouldn’t let our self-confidence be affected by the opinions people have of us, what we receive from people throughout our lives will have a huge impact on shaping our identity. Anna Wintour socially influenced this by telling people to dress how you feel, you will not need to explain yourself as your fashion will make you “identifiable to others”. What we wear constructs an identity of how we want people to view us, Wintour explains how you shouldn’t hold back when deciding what to wear, “let it be unique to yourself”.

Bellatory. 2022. Fashion History: Women’s Clothing of the 1950s. [online] Available at: <https://bellatory.com/fashion-industry/Fashion-History-Womens-Clothing-of-the-1950s> [Accessed 9 February 2022].

Plastik Magazine. 2022. FEATURE: GUY BOURDIN – SEXUAL, SENSUAL, & SINISTER — Plastik Magazine. [online] Available at: <https://www.plastikmagazine.com/interview/guy-bourdin> [Accessed 9 February 2022].

Highsnobiety. 2022. Guy Bourdin Biography | Highsnobiety. [online] Available at: <https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/guy-bourdin-biography/> [Accessed 9 February 2022].

Hodgson, F., 2022. The Quizzical Chamois – Irving Penn’s Cranium Architecture. [online] Francis Hodgson. Available at: <https://francishodgson.com/2013/06/18/the-quizzical-chamois-irving-penns-cranium-architecture/#:~:text=Critics%20and%20historians%20of%20the%20work%20of%20Irving,in%20otherwise%20idealized%20still%20life%20pictures%20and%20portraits.> [Accessed 9 February 2022].

Hoffman, B., 2022. How fashion shapes our identity. [online] THE SKIER SCRIBBLER. Available at: <https://skierscribbler.com/7634/ae/how-fashion-shapes-our-identity/#:~:text=Fashion%20shapes%20identity%20in%20a%20multitude%20of%20different,dye%20our%20hair%20or%20get%20a%20new%20piercing.> [Accessed 9 February 2022].

Nast, C., 2022. As “Irving Penn: The Centennial” Opens at the Met, We Consider the Photographer’s Vogue Career. [online] Vogue. Available at: <“>https://www.vogue.com/article/irving-penn-met-museum-vogue-archive> [Accessed 9 February 2022].

the Guardian. 2022. Thirty years at Vogue: how Anna Wintour changed the way the world gets dressed. [online] Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2018/sep/05/30-years-vogue-anna-wintour-changed-way-world-gets-dressed> [Accessed 9 February 2022].

Wilhelm, S., 2022. 10 Ways Anna Wintour Changed The Fashion World For The Best – Society19. [online] Society19. Available at: <https://www.society19.com/ways-anna-wintour-changed-the-fashion-world-for-the-best/#:~:text=Here%20are%2010%20ways%20Anna%20Wintour%20changed%20the,execute%20the%20tasks%20that%20needed%20to%20be%20done.> [Accessed 9 February 2022].

Personal Study: Shoot 2 Lightroom

Location: Greve de Lecq

I imported the images into Lightroom.
Rejecting the images which I do not like.
Flagged images.
Using the star and colour rating system after developing each image (editing the lighting).
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Creating virtual copies and editing them into black and white to help with the selection in the book.
Final selection of images.

In my final selection I wanted to keep different orientation of images (portrait and landscape) so that I could pick and choose which ones would fir best in the book when I have all my images.

In this shoot I wanted to focus on the landscape and get different angles of the same location in a way trying to tell the story of the landscape. I chose Greve de Lecq because I have some old images from my archive from this location and I wanted to re visit it in the present day focusing on location rather than memories or people.

The lighting in these images is slightly different to what I intended because I wanted a more natural softer light to match my first shoot at St Catherine’s but the weather had changed and the sky was grey. However it is a different location and the images do not look too harsh or high-contrast which can work in the book.

When comparing my images to my artist references this shoot also resembles the work of Shipla Grupta because the focus is on the landscape and she uses similar compositions in her work. When I develop my images further, splitting them and creating double exposures they will relate more to my artist references but for now I am focusing on the compositions and lighting of each image and once I have all my shoots I will start to manipulate them more.

Personal Study: Photo Album Images

I took images from my own personal family’s photo album of me outside around Jersey. I chose images that have a clear location that I can go back and photograph and certain places that have multiple images. When I go to the locations I will be focusing on the landscape around that certain area. I also chose a few images which did not have other images that matched them, but I picked them with the intention that they could potentially work well alone.

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This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is IMG_4716-1024x680.jpg

To get them on the computer for editing my photobook I used a tripod which was positioned directly over a blank piece of paper facing downwards towards the ground. I then imported them into Lightroom so that I can edit them.

Cropping each image to get rid of the white boarder.
Rotating each image so they are facing the right way.
I used the colour ratings to group together the images from the same days so that it was clearer.

Dodumentary Photography Shoots

These are the best unedited images from my documentary photography shoots for my photo book:

I used Adobe Lightroom Classic to edit these photos;

First i imported the images and rated them 1-5 to organise them:

I then used the develop tab to edit the individual photos. I altered the images to look similar to film photography to resemble the style of Paul M Smith’s project ‘Make my Night’:

These are my best edited images from the documentary shoots:

Photobook Essay

What role does photography play in celebrity culture? 

‘Society beauty, spy and mistress of Napoleon III, was so concerned about her image that she constructed it with her personal photographer’1.  

NPG x12166; Lillie Langtry - Portrait - National Portrait Gallery
Post card of Lillie Langtry (1880’s)

For my personal photobook project, I wanted to find a topic that I find fascinating and can also be linked to my own identity. Because of this, I decided to investigate how photography affected the lives of celebrities from the past, and how that compares to the role of photography in relation to celebrity culture in modern times. For this essay I will be looking into historical figures such as The Countess De Castiglione and Lillie Langtry. I will compare these figures to a more modern and controversial personality, Kim Kardashian. Celebrity culture and fame can be seen as a very contentious topic for most, especially today, with the newly found trend that is ‘cancel culture’, which can ruin the reputation of celebrities within a day. Photography plays a huge part in the film and social media industry, but whether this is a positive thing can be heavily disputed. For example, some may argue that with the development of technology, capturing important moments in our lives have been made much more accessible and easier than ever before. Sharing images to friends and family online has also had a huge positive impact for people worldwide, especially during the height of Covid. On the other hand, the evolution of photography has become a threat to the careers and lives of many others. Celebrities and those heavily involved in social media are largely at risk with the access of photography to all, as a simple controversial photograph can turn fans against them and even end careers. Contemporary photography can capture anyone at any time with the invention of mobile phones, which can be extremely damaging to those in the public eye. I have looked at the positive and negative effects of the development of photography within the celebrity world, and the issues of photography as a career rather than a hobby. Photography can be seen as an issue when it comes to a way of making money, as some may focus on creating their content as a need to make a living rather than a pastime, meaning they will go to extreme lengths to get their photos, to the extent of ruining a celebrity’s career or even their own life.  

[Countess de Castiglione], Pierre-Louis Pierson (French, 1822–1913), Albumen silver print from glass negative
‘The Countess De Castiglione’ – Pierre-Louis Pierson (1895)

The Countess of Castiglione (1837-1899), was an Italian aristocrat, who is considered to be an important figure in portrait photography. La Castiglione was brought into disrepute as a mistress of Emperor Napoleon III of France, and became known as an significant icon for portrait photography, she was also widely considered as the most beautiful woman of her day. The Countess had an obsession with her own appearance, she was so obsessed to the point that in her later life she decorated her entire house in the colour black with the blinds drawn and banned mirrors and would only leave her house at night, so she would not have to confront her deteriorating beauty through old age. During her peak of youth, she was photographed over 400 times by Pierre-Louis Pierson and others, causing her to eventually go into debt. These images were taken between 1861 and 1896, with Pierson also taking around 110 images of her son and 5 others of her dogs 2. The Countess used photography to her advantage and had full power over the picture that was made of her and how she was going to be perceived, and were considered as ‘one of the first postmodern portraits’3. La Castiglione controlled nearly the whole process of her modelling, including the title of the image and the camera angle, therefore being in control of her whole image that was to be portrayed into the media. Although the media had little power then compared to now, La Castiglione used it as a form of self-advertisement and self-expression, and stated as someone who ‘was bold enough to appropriate the male gaze for herself’4. She became a popular socialite because of this and attended masked balls and soirées and recreated her looks again within her portraits. She would often ‘flirt with the camera like a fan dancer’5, to achieve a playful yet promiscuous reputation. Following her death, her legacy of a woman of beauty and mystery continued, and a substantial portion of her photographs are kept at the Metropolitan Museum, as well as numerous biographies detailing her life and even a film to further explain her experiences and obsession with beauty. For this reason, she is labelled as an important figure in photographic history, and represents the brighter side of photography and media within the lives of celebrities. 

Lillie Langtry is in character as the adventuress Lena Despard from the play "As in a Looking-Glass." In this full-length portrait, she is  seated, facing right, holding a lizard-shaped cigarette lighter and smoking a cigarette in front of a painted backdrop.
‘Mrs Langtry in “As in a Looking-glass”‘ – Falk, B.J (1887)
Lillie Langtry albumen portrait, Pears' Soap advertising: I prefer Pears'  Soap to any other | Lillie Langtry
Lillie Langtry in ‘Pears Soap’ advertisement (1882)

Another historical figure to feature in the public eye is Lillie Langtry. Lillie Langtry’s story inspired my essay as she is a distant relative to my family from my grandfather’s side, with her birth name being ‘Le Breton’, therefore linking my essay to my own identity. Born in Jersey as Emilie Charlotte Le Breton in the October of 1853, Langtry married and moved to London with her husband, Edward Langtry, in 1876. Langtry became well known in London through her acquaintances and mutual friends, and had multiple painted portraits made of her which became popular on postcards. Through this publicity, Lillie was able to further her career as an actress and featured in plays such as ‘She Stoops to Conquer’ and ‘As You Like It’6. Langtry was also photographed by photographer Rupert Potter whilst she was visiting Scotland. Langtry can be considered as an early example of celebrity endorsement, as she used her huge public profile to endorse products such as cosmetics and soaps, proving her to be a kind of historic ‘influencer’. Soon enough, word of Lillie’s fame reached the Royal Family which led to her era of bad publicity through the media. Langtry was invited to a dinner party with the royals, in which she was sat next to The Prince of Wales, Albert Edward. Edward (who was also married) became infatuated with Langtry, which led to them engaging in an affair of three years. Langtry also had a brief affair with the Earl of Shrewsbury, however this ended due to Langtry’s secret relationships being revealed all over the media in newspapers. Lillie was admired for her astonishing beauty, which lead her to once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for a young girl during her time and this was further celebrated in the media, however, the media started to turn against Langtry once finding out about her affairs with the royals. This led her to be responsible for divorces through those she cared about, and damaging relationships between her and her loved ones. Langtry was left to find her own way in the world and support herself financially, which led her to become an actress, at the suggestion of her good friend, Oscar Wilde. Langtry’s stage career was a success and further projected her to fame, she decided to continue her career in Jersey and even officially opened the current Opera House7 . Lillie Langtry’s story is proof that the history of media, through the use of newspapers, that controversies were quickly forgiven for those they think deserve it. This suggests that photography for the most part still had a positive impact on the lives of celebrities during this century, as ‘pretty privilege’ is most definitely a factor during controversial times. This means that the public do not hold the same standards for all celebrities, and the more attractive are most likely to be forgiven than those who are not. 

Kim Kardashian photoshoot for ELLE UK
‘Kim Kardashian’ – Photoshoot for ELLE Magazine (2016)
Kim Kardashian calls out tabloid for Photoshopping the color of her clothes  - New York Daily News
Kim Kardashian featured in ‘OK! Magazine’

Contemporary photography is considerably more dangerous to the livelihoods of celebrities today. As mentioned before, the invention of mobile phones has become both an advantage and disadvantage to the celebrity world. Theorist Clay Shirky states that the audience now have power to become media producers and to share the content they make8. On a positive note, celebrities can take advantage of this and use the audience as a form of self-promotion. This can be seen when the public post images or videos of interactions with celebrities, and positive interactions being shared online can increase the fan base of the celebrity. However, negative interactions can cause the opposite affect and can lead to the public creating negative connotations with the celebrity, reducing their fanbase. Linking this to the theory of ‘cancel culture’, celebrities are more at risk than ever. ‘Cancel culture’ has become a recent trend in the last few years, and is considered a modern-day form of ostracism in order to hold celebrities accountable to their mistakes. Oftentimes, celebrities are ‘cancelled’ due to the use of racial or homophobic slurs, or being exposed for how they have treated others, and to ‘to suggest that those with fame are only human’. Another addition to the threat of celebrities in terms of photography, Is the role of paparazzi. The job of paparazzi is to pursue celebrities in order to get photographs of them. This means that people working as paparazzi will go to extreme lengths to get these images, and since controversial images sell the most successfully, they are the most desirable due to ‘cancel culture’ articles selling the more than most other stories. ‘Trendy’ celebrities are most at risk as the media surrounds them, celebrities like Kim Kardashian. Although the Kardashian family have been seen in the public eye for years now, they are still very relevant in current times. Kim is seen as an idol for fashion, makeup and for her luxurious lifestyle in general, however the origins of her fame are controversial. Kim was associated with many other celebrities before her own fame; however, she was boosted to fame thanks to her explicit photos and videos that had been leaked through the media. This scenario can prove how dangerous photography can be in the celebrity world and how invasive it can become, however for the Kardashian family it started a domino effect of fame for them, as each member became more famous than the one before. The whole success from the Kardashian family has risen through the use of photography and social media, with promotional photoshoots for their modelling and brands, movie features and their reality show ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’. Although the family have had success with the progression of photography, it also carried a lot of negativities in their lives. The stress of constantly being stalked by paparazzi and having their privacy invaded sparks the debate of whether the lives of celebrities are as idyllic as we depict them to be. This debate also shows the negative impact that photography has over the lives of celebrities, and that the role of photography in the celebrity world is equally negative and positive. 

When comparing the role of photography throughout history to present times, there is clear similarities and differences. Some of the roles of photography will always stay the same, like using photographs as a form of self-expression and self-advertisement. In the past, photography was a revolutionary form of art, and those who were able to get their photograph taken were considered more important and superior, and their photographs certified this. In modern times, anyone can take a photograph or be photographed, meaning the superiority complex of those who are photographed has been lost; you do not have to be rich or famous to have an image taken of you. However, because of the wide accessibility to photography amongst the public, those who are rich or famous can have their image taken at any time, including in their times of struggle, or perhaps committing actions that could be considered morally wrong. Celebrities must act as though they are always being watched in public to defend and preserve their reputation, which becomes more difficult overtime as technology and cameras develop. The role of photography in modern times within celebrity culture is to catch the good and bad sides of celebrities to sell stories rather than to prove their importance, which was considered it’s role in previous centuries. My images relating to this theme focus more on the role of photography in the past, and to show the model as glamorous and successful. This will be shown through excessive clothing and settings as well as props and professional lighting. 

1 G.Badger (2007) ‘Face to Face’ in The Genius of Photography. United Kingdom: Quadrille Publishing Ltd. 
2 Wikipedia – Countess of Castiglione 
3  G.Badger (2007) ‘Face to Face’ in The Genius of Photography. United Kingdom: Quadrille Publishing Ltd. 
4 G.Badger (2007) ‘Face to Face’ in The Genius of Photography. United Kingdom: Quadrille Publishing Ltd. 
5 G.Badger (2007) ‘Face to Face’ in The Genius of Photography. United Kingdom: Quadrille Publishing Ltd. 
6 Wikipedia – Lillie Langtry 
7  Jersey Journey Boutique – Lillie Langtry 
8  Clay Shirky – End of Audience Theory 

Personal Study: Shoot 1 Lightroom

Location: St Catherine’s

Imported images from shoot 1.
Rejecting and selecting images.
Filtering out flagged images.
Rating using the stars.
Rating using the colours.
Filtering out the red images for editing.
Selecting images using X and Y view to compare and select the best one.
Selected images before editing.
Using the develop tool to edit.
Synchronising settings with similar pictures by pressing sync settings.
creating virtual copies and editing those into black and white.
Final selection of images.

I wanted to keep similar images within the final selection so that when I construct my photobook and can choose which compositions work better with the other images in the book.

In this shoot I wanted to focus on the landscape and have different perceptions of the heavily photographed places where people usually get an average sunset picture. I did this shoot to get some interesting images to fill the photobook as I do not have any old photos which link to this location but still wanted to include it because as a family we visit St Catherine’s often and is one of the rare moments where we do something all together.

The soft lighting in these images is something I intend on having in all my future images if possible.

When comparing my images to my artist references this shoot resembles the work of Shipla Grupta, because in her project Altered Inheritances- 100 (Last Name) Stories some of the images in the sequences have a similar composition. In certain images she has focused on one thing and photographed that in the centre of the image, making it the clear focal point.

essay

– How does Jim Goldberg explore childhood through his work

Childhood is seen as being the stages between birth and puberty. Innocent, care-free, happiness and imagination are common words used when describing childhood. There are many stages of childhood, the early stages of a child’s life are when they are learning through observing and communicating with others, usually supported by an adult figure, this forms the beginning of a child’s autonomy. Children start nursery which initiates their social lives and further enhances their communication skills. As a child matures through the different childhood stages they grow into adolescent children and develop massively socially and mentally. They start to make new friends and gain new skills which enables them to become more independent and magnify their own personality and individuality. The onset of adolescence creates various physical, psychological, and behavioural changes. The way a child is brought up and their environment through these stages sets them out for their life.   
Homelessness exposes children to environments that can cause danger to their physical and mental wellbeing. Homeless families often have limited access to health care, vaccinations and basic hygiene practises. Children growing up suffering with homelessness are challenged with stressful and traumatic situations which often they are too young to understand which leads to severe emotional distress and can accumulate over time, creating problems in adulthood. These stressful changes often create a higher result of mental disorders, which become exhibited in homeless children’s behaviour.  
Jim Goldberg explores childhood in the late 19th Century. Goldberg began creating the ideas behind and photographing ‘Raised by Wolves’ in 1985 and later started assembling the book in 1991. Between the years of 1985 and 1991 Goldberg bore witness to chaotic reality of street life in a culture of urban poverty. Goldberg shows childhood in an ‘unusual’ manner and from a perspective that is not usually related to childhood.   
My inspiration for my personal photobook stemmed from Goldbergs ‘Raised by Wolves’ project as I liked his use of a mix of not only images but text and annotations to support his intentions. For my personal study I will be collating my baby photos and objects that have significance to me and photographing them. To create the final outcome of my book I will be using old images, old drawings and diaries and significant objects from my childhood.   

Raised by wolves explores street kids as they endeavour their lives full of addiction, abuse, and violence. Goldberg goes out into the streets of Los Angelos and San Francisco and follows these kids around whilst taking an outsider perspective to his project. Goldberg used half-truths and falsehoods in the children’s stories to reflect what people want or need to believe and leave the book open to peoples own interpretations. Raised by wolves transformed the role that photography played as it highlighted the differences between documentary and narrative and revealing the compromises between myth, history, and identity. As an outsider it was difficult to capture the true emotions and create a sympathetic feel for these kids when he hasn’t experienced their lifestyle. Goldberg used a mixture of images and written text to present the children’s personality, thoughts, and feelings. In an interview Goldberg said “I had always been interested in dialectical arguments, or positions… And when I thought of youth, I thought of my own teenage hood and childhood, and other people I knew who were often scapegoated, not appreciated, or not given a chance. The end result was trouble for them. I wanted to look at those people who were outsiders, like I was..” (Goldberg: 2018). Goldberg experienced a childhood of middle class and wanted to give these children a chance to be heard where they would normally be socially rejected.   

Solomon-Godeau produced an essay discussing and exploring the concept of inside/out. Solomon-Godeau talks about the aspects of being an insider vs an outsider and the affects it can have on the outcome of an image. Within the essay she dissects the different positions, describing being an insider as “trusting, engaged and empathetic” whereas on the contrary she describes being an outsider as “unsympathetic, voyeuristic and distant.” Solomon-Godeau presents an insider as someone who has lived or is living through what they are trying to capture, thus creating an emotional and intimate image. She sees an outsider as someone who is trying to capture something they have not experienced themselves and the images being emotionless.   

These two images from Goldberg and Brodie show the differences being an insider vs being an outsider creates. In Brodies image it shows a more intimate side of the subject, showing where she may sleep or socialise. The subject is looking directly into the camera, looking relaxed and comfortable. Brodies image is raw and intense with emotion. The image is clean with sharp lighting which aids the deep emotions expressed within the image.   
Goldberg images looks like a snapshot taken without much thought or composition. Goldberg’s image has little intimacy as he is capturing a teen walking through the street instead of Brodie who captures his subject within their personal space.   
Being an insider can thoroughly change and adapt the meaning and emotions presented in an image. As an insider a photography is able to build relationships with the subject and allow them to feel comfortable and relate to the photographer. With Brodie his subjects were able to show their real personalities and their environment as he was one of them and understood what they were experiencing. This can enhance an image as the viewers as seeing the subject’s true self’s and make the viewers feel sympathetic towards the subject’s situation rather than judging them for it. Whereas, with an outsider’s perspective the subject may be putting on some form of an act as this is a new person. They may act and show emotions differently to how they really feel day to day. The subject may not feel comfortable with the photographer and therefore may be reserved and help back which would not properly present the true emotions and meaning behind the images. From a photographer’s perspective they may not fully be able to capture their ideas fully as they have not experienced that themselves, so they are just photographing based off society’s stereotypes and views on that matter. In regard to, Jim Goldberg, he uses text to let his subjects describe their own experiences with their own words to try and gain an insider perspective.   

Goldberg found a specific interest in the lives of two boys named Dave and Echo, he was intrigued by their likeable personalities and their crowds of friends. He began to form a close relationship with these two teens and became immersed in their lives. Dave and Echo were two fascinating but extremely troubled runaways. Dave described his highly Christian parents as a junkie slut and a biker from hell, although untrue the representation seemed fitting for a couple who then went on to turn their back on their dying son. Goldberg uses narratives to give more of a close formed relationship between the subject and the viewer. The narrative makes the viewer feel empathy for the subject rather than judging them. Goldberg challenges the norm and the stigma behind homeless, troubled youths and creates a different image for the viewers.  
Dave and Echo have a special part within the book as they talk more deeply about their childhood and their upbringings which Goldberg presents in an interview manor. Goldberg uses a collection of photographs, pieces of conversations, handwritten notes, drawings, snapshots, and the routine of daily life to show these children’s childhood and how their lives and routines is completely different to most teens their age. He presents their personalities, histories, and dreams to give these teens equal attention, and allowed them to present themselves in their own words allowing them to properly express their feelings when they may have not normally had the opportunity.  
Although Goldberg does not present a typical childhood, he is capturing the childhood and day to day lives of teens with an unusual life.   

In conclusion, Goldberg’s photobook ‘Raised by wolves’ presents childhood in an unusual way and presents children and youths who would typically not been given a chance. Goldberg uses a combination of images, text and diary entries to represent the youth’s thoughts, views and emotions. Goldberg takes an outsider’s approach to Raised by Wolves as he has never experienced that type of lifestyle which is a hard approach to take when trying to present a group of ‘socially rejected’ people which is why he supports his images with text so the subjects themselves so he can also gain an insider’s view. Goldberg’s book is similar to Mike Brodies photobook “‘A period of Juvenile Prosperity” in the fact they both went out exploring and capturing runaway homeless teens. However, Brodie takes an insider’s approach as he was one of the homeless teens and therefore he just captured the people he was surrounded by and the environments which they stayed in. The difference between and outsiders’ perspective can entirely change the way a viewer interprets the book and the emotions presented from the subjects. Solomon-Godeau discusses this concept within her essay ‘Inside/out,’ discussing the different concepts and how this can affect one’s images and final outcome. 

Bibliography

Solomon-Godeau, A. (1994), Public Information Desire, Disaster, Document. San Francisco: SFMOMA.

Jim Goldberg (2018), Magnum Photos, A Completely True Work of Fiction.

Jim Goldberg (2021), Magnum Photos, Fingerprint: Tracing the Roots of Jim Goldberg’s Raised by Wolves.

Miss Rosen (2021) Blind magazine, Tracing the Roots of Jim Goldberg’s “Raised by Wolves”.

Finished Essay

How can photography capture and explore an environment, and accurately record it’s atmosphere to a viewer?

Introduction

“I am interested in the influence of place, and the shape of it around us, as we follow in the footsteps of those who came before.” (anna-Katrina Jędrosz, Isle, 2019).

Environmental documentary photographer Hanna-Katrina Jędrosz said this is how she experienced and encountered a place. She is an influential photographer to my project as I’m studying the environment surrounding Bouley Bay in Jersey. I plan to investigate different features, like Fort Leicester, the Islet, and boats, and other elements of the bay through different methods of photography, such as long exposure, aerial photography, and minimalistic close ups in a studio. This location is especially important to me as I grew up in that area, and regularly went to the beach in the summer. There are many memories that brings cheerfulness, for-instance meeting my friends at the pontoon in the bay, and many barbeques in the hot summer evening. I know this area extremely well and is relishing the opportunity to explore it from different perspectives and viewpoints. Using a selection of photos I have produced, I plan to prove that using photography you can accu depict an environment in detail. I plan to look at photographers Hanna-Katrina Jędrosz and Robert Adams as they document landscape environments well in in a clear way that captures the area in detail. I am using historical context of the bay from the Societe Jersiaise, because they have images and in-depth information on the history of the bay, which I can use in my project to juxtapose time. There are a few links to my pervious projects, such as the Anthropocene project, and how I linked it to water pollution by capturing images around Bouley Bay, which I used to create a photo manipulation from in Photoshop. I have also taken photos at Bouley Bay in other projects, for example, long exposure of the mini waterfall, and a slow shutter speed of waves crashing on the rocks near the L’Islet. For my current project I would like to develop long exposure photography of the bay, and it’s smaller features, also aerial photography to capture unique angles that showcases the bay that aren’t accessible to the average beachgoer. It would be displayed via a photobook that consists of images of the bay, the history of the bay and, images relating to the bay. All of the images that I will use in the photobook I will edit them in Photoshop, mainly using the camera-raw filter as it works extremely will since I only shot in RAW which, produces a .CR2 image. This helps me bring back shadows, highlights, and colour in post production as there is greater dynamic range. Compared to a JPEG file which uses compressed data as there is less information in the image file, so recovering and editing the images is more challenging. The processes I use the most in Photoshop are gradual and radial filters, spot healing brushes, and the clone stamp tool.

Historical/ theoretical context within art, photography, visual and popular culture

There are four main art movements and isms in photography and, they are, Pictorialism, Realism/Straight Photography , Modernism, and Post-Modernism. I plan to look at modernism, creating images inspired by Robert Adams and, Ansel Adams.

Pictorialism

Firstly, pictorialism was most popular in the time period 1880-1920, and the goal of it was to make photographs look like art, and to make them look handmade. There were many methods of creating this effect. The main two ways were to rub Vaseline on the camera lens to blur parts of the picture. Scratch the negative, and use chemicals to create an interesting print, information from The Genius of Photography. (Archive, 2007). Alfred Stieglitz was later dubbed Hill “the father of pictorial photography” and featured his and Adamson’s photographs in his publications and at the Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession in 1906. (TheArtStory, 2018).

Realism and Straight Photography

Realism and Straight photography was effective approximately around the time period 1915, and its purpose was to use the photographic medium and it’s ability to provide accurate and descriptive records of the visual world, information from The Genius of Photography. (Archive, 2007). Gustave Courbet was the first artist to self-consciously proclaim and practice the realist aesthetic. After his huge canvas The Studio (1854–55) was rejected by the Exposition Universelle of 1855. (Britannica, 2020).

Modernism

Modernism is what relates to my project the most, and I what Robert Adams fits into, as he is most know for taking photos of the American West, which is the same objective that Ansel Adams had, who is considered the most important landscape photographer of the 20th century. (Britannica, 2020). Ansel Adams and Robert Adams are both environmentalists and use photography as a tool to highlight areas of the natural world that they care about. However, Ansel focuses his lens on the beauty of nature and he produces romanticised images, compared to Robert, who photographs the man-made world in the American West.

Modernism is characterised intellectually by a belief that science could save the world and that, through reason, a foundation of universal truths could be established. The common trend was to seek answers to fundamental questions about the nature of art and human experience. (The Genius of Photography, 2007). To get answers to their questions they would have to view the situation from a different angle, the quote sums it up nicely. “Our vision will be changed because we can see the world from unfamiliar viewpoints, for instance, thought a microscope, from the top of high buildings, from under the sea.” (Photography: A Critical Introduction, 1988: 19) This implies that by viewing the situation differently, there is a whole new way of thinking that introduces new ideas and new concepts, as it was a whole new notion, “modernism aimed to produce a new kind of world and new kinds of human beings to people it. The old world would be put under the spotlight of modern technology and the old evasions and concealments revealed.” (Photography: A Critical Introduction, 1988: 19). This is explains the changes in art movements and, how people are focusing on the future by putting the old movements behind them, however not completely forgetting them, which would help embrace the future and, what it holds.

Postmodernism

Finally, Postmodernism is the newest art movement and ism, and it has been in place since the second half of the 20th century. “Writers on postmodernism postulated the idea that modernity had run its course”. (Photography: A Critical Introduction, 1988: 21). Meaning that there was a new way of work, which allows new artist to take lead and express themselves.

Postmodernism is relativism, and it is the belief that no society or culture is more important than any other. It explores power and the way economic and social forces exert that power by shaping the identities of individuals and entire cultures. (The Genius of Photography, 2007). It gives everyone a fair chance as, “no longer governed by, so called, ‘grand’ or ‘master’ narratives.” ((Photography: A Critical Introduction, 1988: 21), which allows people to embrace the full chance of freedom, so they can create what they ideal.

There are many examples of post-modernistic art, however the most recognised founder of the Postmodernism movement is Jacques Lacan, who was a prominent French psychoanalyst and theorist. His ideas had a huge impact on critical theory in the twentieth century and were particularly influential on post-structuralist philosophy and the development of postmodernism. (Tate, 2017). A good example of Postmodern work would be “The Destroyed Room” that was created by Canadian artist, Jeff Wall in 1978.

This image shows exciting and vibrant colours that contrasts the abandoned, destroyed room. It aims to explore themes of violence and eroticism inspired by Eugène Delacroix’s monumental painting The Death of Sardanapalus. (Gagosian, 2018). The emotion that Wall is trying to express within his artwork is the anger and hatred after a breakup from a relationship. This explains why the main colours in the image is red, because red represents violence and blood. However, red is also the main colours that dominates Delacroix’s painting, along with the skin tones of the women in the painting. Therefore, I believe that Wall has created a modern version of Delacroix’s painting by taking inspiration form it, however instead of focusing on people and their emotions, he has focused on objects and belongings to visualise a heartbreak .

Robert Adams

The first photographer I have decided to study is Robert Adams, as he is a historical photographer who has documented the extent and the limits of our damage to the American West, recording it in over fifty books of pictures, both reasons to despair and to hope. (Fraenkel Gallery, 2012) His work is very well known and he fits into the modernism art movement, as his photos embrace its social, political and aesthetic potential, experimenting with light, perspective and developing?, as well as new subjects and abstraction. (Tate, 2016). Adams study on the American West link to my project in the same way that Jędrosz’s work does. This is through the study of an environment within an area. After reading a small section in Robert Adams book, “Beauty in Photography”, Adams describes how an image is meaningful even if it isnt the best image in the world. “For a picture to be beautiful it does not have to be shocking, but it must in some significant respect be unlike what has preceded it (this is why an artist cannot afford to be ignorant of the tradition within his medium). This is quote is from Adams influential book Beauty in Photography (which provides a theory on his approach to landscape photography), and it means Adams feels that for an image to be good it must be different and unique compared to what other people have captured.

When analysing one of Adams many books, “Beauty in Photography” he started the essay off with the quote, “The beautiful places to which we journey for inspiration surprise us by the melancholy they can induce.” (Adams, 1996: 13). A reviewer said, “I found this to be an interesting statement and one I can agree with. I am not really a landscape photographer myself, I can appreciate a good image but I often feel uninspired in my own attempts.” (35mmc, 2020) This really shows how Adams produces exceptional photographs which have the ability to inspire other people, which is why he is considered one of the most important and influential photographers to capture the American West. By Gilman (the reviewer) being inspired to practice photography herself, means that Adams has had a strong influence on her, however when Gilman realises that she is not a master at photography, it makes her more appreciative of Adams work. Many people may agree to the statement, “I often feel uninspired in my own attempts.” (35mmc, 2020). And the main reason is because they are not decided to photography in the same way that Robert Adams is, therefore the work they have produced seems bad and less important when being compared against Adams work.

When Adam’s was asked in an interview, “How do you go about finding the photograph you want to take?”, he spoke about how Ansel Adams pre-visulises all the details and specially plans the photoshoot, however Robert Adams doesn’t take the same approach and he said, “You do try to get as much as you can right there on the spot when you make the exposure, but there are a lot of surprises in photography. If you’re not interested in surprises, you shouldn’t be a photographer. It’s one of the great enlivening blessings of the medium.” (Art21, 2017). This shows how Robert Adams has a natural eye for photography and is very good at improvising according to his surroundings. It also shows how Adams had patience as he would have ended taking more photos than he planned and each exposure would have taken a long time. Finally Adams is also saying how unique and different each shoot can be, by using the word, “surprising”, this is the way to get the best photographs, which Adams described as the, “blessings of the medium.”

These are two of his photographs that I picked from a wide range of Adams work in Western America.

These two images where both taken by Robert Adams. The image on the left shows temporary caravan housing which contrasts with the mountain in the background, as the rectangular lines on the caravans clash with the smooth nature lines from the mountains on the horizon. The bottom half of the image being congested creates a busy, active, loud atmosphere that creates a conflict in emotion with the tranquil, clam, peaceful mountains and clear sky. Despite the cameras not being as advanced, this image is very clear and contains lots of details.

The image on the right is a more zoomed in shot to create a deeper personal connection. This effect is achieved by focusing in on the drive way of the house. The image is slightly under exposed, which makes the highlights more noticeable, therefore making the car a focus point. Adams commonly makes the 50/50 split in the image rather than using the rule of thirds, but in both of these image it works out well.

Hanna-Katrina Jędrosz.

The second photographer I’ve decided to study is Hanna-Katrina Jędrosz. She is a contemporary photographer who does documentary work with places, people and the environment in focus. In 2017 she did a photo series on the Rummu quarry. It stands as a remnant of the cold war. She highlighted the recent trials of refurbishing the area into something more beneficial to the nearby society. (Academy, 2021). This links with my study on a geographical point, such as Bouley Bay. I can study how Jędrosz has captured the quarry in a way which makes the viewer see the historical value of the site, before it is destroyed. Jędrosz uses several photographs from different vantage points to represent the location. Doing so she creates unique and interesting angles that reflects the areas age and emotion. The shots consist of a variety of close ups of walls with iron rods in them, barbed wire fences vanishing into the horizon and, a low squatted building on a frozen lake. All of the images have been shot during winter, and what seems to be a single photoshoot. This gives the collection of images a general look, which is a cold atmosphere, however it would have been nice to see the location in different seasonal states, as it would have give the quarry a whole different look. Although, after research, this aproach of showing the area in different lighting, seasons and, moods goes against Jędrosz’s way of work as this question in an interview was asked, “What influenced your photography?”, and she replied, “The people and places I photograph have the biggest influence on my photography. I try not to impose too much, and to respond to what’s happening in front of me in a genuine way, to make photographs that are a documentation of an encounter.” (Academy, 2021). This is evidence that Jędrosz likes to capture the initial, untouched environment, and how she doesn’t want to manipulate the location, as it wouldn’t produce an authentic image. This would take some of the meaning away from the final image.

Jędrosz fits into the contemporary documentary photographer category, which is a style of photography that provides a straightforward and accurate representation of people, places, objects and events. (Tate, 2017) These are my two favourite images from the Rummu Quarry photo collection, and they are an accurate representation of place, as she has used the quarry landscape to set the scene. Photos captured for contemporary documentary purposes, like Jędrosz’s images, are often used in reports such as, in the newspaper and on the news. Jędrosz’s images of the quarry were useful as the Rummu Quarry was being assessed for redevelopment, therefore she documented the quarry before it was repurposed or destroyed.

The image on the left is my favourite image. It shows the area in a wider perspective, and Jędrosz has made an extremely powerful composition by including small hints of the side of the cliff, which creates depth to draw the eye into the middle of the image, where the building is located. The spacing between the building and the land is mostly consistent, which adds to create a visually appealing composition. The building having the same colours as the rocky cliffs around it means that the blue, frozen ice emphasis the focus on the building. The blue ice constructs a balance between the light blue, hazed sky, which makes the viewer notice the brown areas more, this is because blue and brown are the main two colours in this image. Overall, the vantage point Jędrosz has taken this image from and inspired me to use high pinot to take images from to get the aerial photo type look.

The photo on the right is extremely different to the other image. It doesn’t show the general area that is surrounded by miles of trees, instead it show the security measures in place and provides a more realistic representation of what it would of been like to work at the quarry when it was open during the rein of the Soviet Union. The meaning changes when you look into the historical context of the quarry. “The workers were drawn from the near by Rummu Prison” (Hanna-Katrina, 2010?). Knowing that prisoners use to work at the quarry creates links to the barbed wire fences, and the graffiti, which could have been done by the released prisoners or street artists.

Conclusion

In conclusion, both Jędrosz and Adams capture an environment in detail and, they accurately recreate the atmosphere as if the viewer was there. The main similarities between both photographers, is that they both include a wide variety of shots from the same location to provide more infomation about the place. For example, a wide angle view of the location, and a close up shot of objects in the environment. On the other hand the main difference is that Adams shoots in black and white, where as Jędrosz shoots in colour.

For Adams only being able to shoot in a monochromatic format, the image he produces often contains a more moody atmosphere which creates stronger emotions, as there is a greater contrast between certain elements in the image. Plus, shooting in black and white can removed some visual distractions by removing distracting colours to simplify the final image. Without colour, it is sometimes easier to make out the photographic camera techniques used in an image such as, framing, form, positioning and, surface texture. Robert Adams once claimed, “Black and white are the colours of photography,” (NYTimes, 2012) meaning that Adams feels that he doesn’t need colour to create the perfect image. On the other hand, colour is an important variable in landscape photography. It creates a visually appealing image which draws the viewer into the image where they can notice smaller details, which might have been missed if the image was in black and white, as colour in landscape photography can help differentiate depth and detail in an image. Colour can be used to convey emotion such as, cold and warm, it can also show emotion using the lighting conditions and the weather.

Another difference is that Adams composition in his images seem more precise, compared to Jędrosz. The main reason I think this happened is because Adams uses a large-format camera which is much slower to operate and can only make one exposure at a time, whereas Jędrosz uses a digital camera, so she can quickly and efficacy capture images. The large format camera was the best camera at the time for taking landscape images, as it had incredible detail and focus, a shallow depth of field and, interchangeable lenses. Both photographers capture different environments in their own style, and affectively showcase a whole geological location with a selection of images.

MT: You need to redo the way you reference sources as it doesn’t make sense. Use Harvard system of referencing

Bibliography

Jędrosz, H.K. (2019) Isle. Available at: https://www.isle-stories.co.uk/hanna-jedrosz (Accessed: 12 January 2022).

The Genius of Photography. (2007) Available at: https://archive.org/details/tGoPhoto (Accessed: 30 January 2022)

Anonymous. (2018) TheArtStory. Available at: https://www.theartstory.org/movement/pictorialism/ (Accessed: 30 January 2022)

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “realism”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 May. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/art/realism-art. Accessed 30 January 2022.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Ansel Adams”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 May. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ansel-Adams-American-photographer. Accessed 30 January 2022.

Tate, “Postmodernism” Tate. (2017) Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/p/postmodernism (Accessed: 30 January 2022)

Academy, “Hanna-Katrina Jędrosz”, Academy. (2021) Available at: https://academy.wedio.com/documentary-photographers-in-london/#2-hanna-katrina-jędrosz (Accessed: 30 January 2022)

Hanna-Katrina Jędrosz, “Rummu Quarry”, Hanna-Katrina. (2010?) available at: http://www.hannakatrina.co.uk/oldstone/sdgtnd6c7vm0n20r5ggsqxm2ypx7hx (Accessed: 31 January 2022)

Hanna-Katrina Jędrosz photo (Left): http://www.hannakatrina.co.uk/oldstone/rxrz38mskho1qqik5jgu89qm038f6d

Hanna-Katrina Jędrosz photo (Right): http://www.hannakatrina.co.uk/oldstone/ixspoh80iz62t8aslein3hsqgsq5tv

Fraenkel Gallery, “Robert Adams”, Fraenkel Gallery. (2012) Available at: https://fraenkelgallery.com/artists/robert-adams (Accessed: 31 January 2022)

Tate, “Modernist Photography”, Tate. (2016) Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/p/photography/a-z (Accessed: 31 January 2022)

Adams, R (2005) Beauty in Photography. Aperture; 2nd Revised ed. edition (June 15, 2005)

Robert Adams Photo (Houses/Left): https://www.google.com/search?q=Robert+Adams+photos&safe=active&rlz=1C1GCEA_enJE982JE982&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj538ncodz1AhWPQEEAHZeDCpgQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1920&bih=937&dpr=1&surl=1#imgrc=A4-HKkh00u4fPM

Robert Adams Photo (Car/Right) https://www.google.com/search?q=Robert+Adams+photos&safe=active&rlz=1C1GCEA_enJE982JE982&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj538ncodz1AhWPQEEAHZeDCpgQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1920&bih=937&dpr=1&surl=1#imgrc=aVnrgzYwWffsHM

Gagosian, “Jeff Wall”, Gagosian. (2018) Available at: https://gagosian.com/artists/jeff-wall/ (Accessed: 8 February 2022)

Tate, “Documentary Photography”, Tate. (2017) Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/d/documentary-photography (Accessed: 8 February 2022)

Art21, “Photography, Life, and Beauty – Robert Adams”, Art21. (2017) Available at: https://art21.org/read/robert-adams-photography-life-and-beauty/ (Accessed: 8 February 2022)

Martha Schwendener, “A review of ‘Robert Adams’ the place we live in New Haven”, NYTimes (2012) Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/02/nyregion/a-review-of-robert-adams-the-place-we-live-in-new-haven.html (Accessed: 8 February 2022)

Holly Gilman, “Review of ‘Beauty in Photography’, by ‘Robert Adams'”, 35mmc. (2020) Available at: https://www.35mmc.com/09/12/2020/beauty-in-photography-by-robert-adams-book-review-by-holly-gilman/ (Accessed: 8 February 2022)

Liz Wells, “Thinking about photography – modernism”, Photography: A Critical Introduction. (1988) Available at: https://hautlieucreative.co.uk/photo21al/wp-content/uploads/sites/41/2021/01/Photograph-as-document_modern-and-postmodern-debates.pdf (Accessed: 8 February 2022)

Liz Wells, “Thinking about photography – The postmodern”, Photography: A Critical Introduction. (1988) Available at: https://hautlieucreative.co.uk/photo21al/wp-content/uploads/sites/41/2021/01/Photograph-as-document_modern-and-postmodern-debates.pdf (Accessed: 8 February 2022)

Book Specification

Narrative: What is your story?

3 words

Mental Health Disorder

A sentence

To show the effects of mental health through the use of photography.

A paragraph

The story of my photobook is to show the viewers how emotions cannot just be read from the face but can be from the body. I want to show these mental health disorders through my photography in a dramatic way, discarding the colour and having the white dress as the focus as a sense of purity and cleanness yet juxtaposes how the mind is. The self portraits would consist of photos in different locations such as a forest, an abandoned building and the inside of my own home.

Design: Consider the following

Paper and ink

Smooth, semi-matte finish with up to 440 photos.

Format, size and orientation

Sizing of the book to be 8×10 in, 20×25 cm.

Binding and cover

Printed on the front cover, back cover, and spine. Gloss finish with no cover flaps.

Title 

The White Dress

Design and layout

With the photobook I will have a selection of double page spread images, juxtaposition and a few sequences on a page spread.

Editing and sequencing

There will be a sequence of black and white self portraits in different places starting with trees, to an abandoned building to then inside showing the journey of mental health.

Images and text

With the new selection of images I will add some text which would consist of maybe a quote or some understanding of my story.

Photobook Mood Board